Charleston WV – The following events happened on these dates in West Virginia history.
To read more, go to e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia at www.wvencyclopedia.org.
Sept. 30, 1832: Community leader Ann Reeves Jarvis was born in Virginia. She organized Mother’s Day Work Clubs in Taylor County to improve health conditions and is credited with pulling together a divided community after the Civil War. She was the inspiration for Mother’s Day, first celebrated in Grafton in 1908.
Sept. 30, 1872: Educator Fannie Cobb Carter was born in Charleston. She organized the teacher-training department at what is now West Virginia State University, led the State Industrial Home for Colored Girls in Huntington and was director of adult education in Kanawha County.
Sept. 30, 2010: Facing an economic downturn and foreign competition, Wheeling-LaBelle Nail Company closed. The company was founded in 1852 as La Belle Ironworks. By 1875, Wheeling was known as the Nail City, and La Belle was the city’s leading nail producer.
Oct. 1, 1896: Rural Free Delivery began in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle. Before this, there was no rural mail delivery, although more than half the country’s citizens lived in rural areas.
Oct. 1, 1935: Rev. Jim Lewis was born in Baltimore. The longtime Episcopal minister was an outspoken advocate for social justice, especially during his time in Charleston. He died in 2026.
Oct. 1, 1950: West Virginia Poet Laureate Marc Harshman was born in Indiana, graduated from Bethany College and later moved to Wheeling. He is a noted storyteller, children’s author and poet who wrote and recited his poem “A Song for West Virginia” for our state’s sesquicentennial in 2013.
Oct. 2, 1867: Storer College, one of the earliest integrated institutions of higher learning in the nation, opened in Harpers Ferry. It closed in 1955, but many of its buildings still stand in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.
Oct. 2, 1923: Hershel “Woody” Williams was born in Quiet Dell. During World War II, Williams neutralized seven concrete pillboxes at the Battle of Iwo Jima. At the time of his death in 2022, he was the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from World War II.
Oct. 2, 1924: Longtime labor leader Miles Stanley was born in Dunbar, Kanawha County. He was the first president of the West Virginia Labor Federation AFL-CIO, serving from 1957 until his death in 1974.
Oct. 2, 1948: The last Sagebrush Roundup radio show was broadcast. Based on the formats of the Wheeling Jamboree and Grand Ole Opry, it had aired on Fairmont’s WMMN since 1938 featuring such notable country musicians as Buddy Starcher and Grandpa Jones.
Oct. 2, 1949: The first class began training at the State Police Academy in Institute. The 20 cadets graduated on Dec. 20, 1949.
Oct. 3, 1935: A patient at Weston State Hospital started a fire in the main building that destroyed six men’s wards and caused a cupola to fall through the roof. The building was repaired, and the hospital remained in service for nearly 60 more years.
Oct. 4, 1890: A traveling circus arrived in Alderson. While in town, the show’s lioness gave birth to cubs. Susan Bebout, wife of a local blacksmith, raised one of the cubs in her backyard. Its regular escape into led the town to pass an ordinance requiring all lions to be kept on leashes.
Oct. 4, 1934: Sam Huff was born at Edna, near Morgantown. Huff was part of a fearsome defense that led West Virginia University to a 38-7 record between 1952 and 1955, including three consecutive wins over rival Penn State.
Oct. 4, 1967: Basketball player Vicky Bullett was born in Martinsburg. While starring at the University of Maryland, she helped lead the U.S. women’s basketball team to a gold medal in the 1988 Olympics.
Oct. 6, 1928: Traditional musician William “Frank” George was born in Bluefield. The multi-instrumentalist and his wife, Jane George, were leaders in the old-time folk music revival of the 1960s and 1970s.
